I can’t remember how I first heard about Seth Godin. I added his blog to my Google Reader and have been a fan ever since. He creates new blog posts daily. They’re usually short and direct, which is ideal for me. I recently read The Dip, and here’s what I thought about it and how I relate to it.
What exactly is the Dip?
I interpret the Dip as ‘the point of no return’. It’s when you are excited to try something new but don’t know a lot about it yet. So you dive right in. It’s fun at first, but then you get to a point where a little more skill is required. Do you stick it out, or do you quit? That’s where the dip lies. Sure, you’ll learn a new language. You buy Rosetta Stone or books on tape. You do the first couple of lessons and never use them again. That’s the dip. You want to learn how to create flash animations. You buy a book on Flash, read the first chapter, and it collects dust on your bookshelf. That’s the dip. You want to lose 15 pounds. You tell yourself you are going to go to the gym 5 days a week and start eating right. On day two you have a headache and decide to skip the gym and pick up McDonald’s. You tell yourself you’ll start tomorrow instead. That’s the dip.
At first whatever it is you are doing is new and exciting. But then there’s the dip. The dip is when it gets hard. You have to make a choice. Do you realize it’s not for you and quit, or do you tough it out and reach the other side? It’s okay to quit if you know it’s not for you. But quit when you reach the beginning of the dip, don’t do it when your at the bottom. If you do it when you’re at the bottom of the dip you’ve wasted a lot of your time. If you can get through the dip, and WANT to get through the dip, then you’ll be one of the best at what you chose to do. Benefits come to the smart people who push through the dip because only a tiny number of people can manage to do this. Benefits also come to the smart people that quit early and are able to focus their efforts on something that is a better fit for them.
The toughest part is deciding what dips we should quit early on and what dips we should push through. Whichever ones we decide to stick with, we should be aim to be the best there is for that market.
Last House on the Left – The Cul-De-Sac
Another term mentioned often throughout the book is the ‘cul-de-sac’. The author describes it as a situation where you work and nothing changes. It doesn’t get better or worse, things remain the same. It’s a dead-end job. If you want to grow as a person, you need to get off it fast once you realize you are in one. Being in a cul-de-sac prevents you from doing other things. The types of people I picture in cul-de-sacs are those semi-retired middle aged women working in the local bookstore to pass the time during the day. They are there for the job, but don’t see a need to move on up. They really don’t care to satisfy the customer or make their day special. If your goal is to make it to the top, you don’t want to be in a dead-end job. You should always look to be growing. Give yourself and your employees something to work towards. It will motivate them each day to work hard.
An Example
A good example the author uses to explain the dip is with snowboarding. It sounds new and exciting, so you think about taking it up. Learning even the basic skills is where the dip lies. It takes a few days to learn the simple skills during which you will catch a few bruises. It’s easier to quit than to keep going. Therefore, the brave thing is to tough it out and get all the benefits that come from scarcity. However the mature thing is not to start if you know you likely won’t make it through the dip. The stupid thing to do is to start, waste a lot of time and money, and quit right in the middle of the dip.
Diversification Doesn’t Always Work
Record companies hire thousands of artists hoping one makes it big. A job-seeker takes a shotgun approach and sends his resume to 100 different companies hoping one will respond. These people are relying on luck.
Real success is rewarded to those who focus their efforts. An example Godin uses is a woodpecker can tap 20 times on a thousand trees and get nowhere, or the woodpecker can tap 20,000 times on one tree and get dinner. The bird focused his efforts, and he was successfully rewarded.
Why Get Through the Dip?
Getting through the dip makes you scarce, perhaps irreplaceable. Seth Godin recommends cancelling the space shuttle program because it is a cul-de-sac. No one has the guts to cancel it. However, if it did get cancelled, it would force us to invent a better alternative. People stick with it because it’s easier to stick with something that we’re used to. I feel the same way about the auto industry; I would not have minded seeing companies the government supported not get help, since it would have led to newer, better, more efficient companies. I have thoughts about the airline industry as well, not in terms of getting rid of them, but I feel there has to be a more efficient process to board and un-board passengers, taxi planes, etc. It takes more time to board and take off than it does to fly.
Average is for Losers
The author says that the next time we realize we’re being average and feel like quitting we have only two choices. Quit, or be exceptional. Average is for losers. This is a wake up call to people at the crossroads in their career.
When To Quit
When it’s a dead-end. When you have a mountain to climb and the reward at the top isn’t worth the effort to get there. We don’t have the time to be the best at the projects that excite us and at the ones that don’t. When you’re wasting your time coping. Our time is better spent doing something else.
My Assignment
Seth recommends to write down the circumstances with which we are willing to quit, and when. I’ve kept mine private, but they are written down.
Final Thoughts
This book opens up your eyes when you’re stuck. Don’t settle for mediocrity. Just because you are breathing does that mean you are alive? Don’t stick around because it’s easy. Don’t stick around because you are comfortable. Don’t stick around out of fear of the unknown. Stick around if you think you can make a difference. Stick around if you think you can be the best. Stick around when you can conquer the beast that is the dip.
invest in yourself 